Hit And Run

Chapter 11

I ran, as fast, and as far as I could. I heard footsteps running behind me, unsure of who they belong to, Mitch or my parent's I don't have the strength to look back.

So I run until I cant run anymore, the adrenaline in my blood wears off, leaving me with no energy and no where left to run.

I don't realize I am crying until a warm, salt tear falls into my open mouth as I try to gasp for air. How could everything have gone so terribly wrong? Am I really to blame for all the chaos?

To be honest, I don't even know anymore.

"Riley." A tired voice behind me says my name, I stop dead in my tracks and turn around, Mitch stands their with his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

"I-I'm so sorry. I caused all this, and I am so sorry." I say as I sob loudly and want to do nothing except collapse to the ground.

"Why did you leave?" Mitch asks once he has gained some air.

"I didn't want to get you hurt." I choke. Then I ask. "Why did you come after me?"

Mitch comes closer to me and wipes the tears away that are falling down my cheeks. He holds me close to him and I feel butterflies in my stomach.

"Because even though we only met a few days ago, we've been through so much together. And I love you, Riley. I love you too much to let you hurt yourself." Mitch whispers softly.

Love. That's a word I am not familiar with, for the 18 years I have existed, no one has ever shown me real compassion, or real love. Only abuse and hatred.

I'm not sure I am capable of loving someone.

"How do you know when you love someone?" I ask him with tears in my eyes and my voice shaking.

"You know because whenever you are around them, you feel warm, and happy, and safe. You also feel nervous and weird. It's a strange feeling." Mitch tells me.

I stare up at him without blinking, letting his words sink in.

"But the only way to be 100% sure, is to do this." Mitch says and he leans in really close, my stomach is filled with butterflies and I close my eyes slowly.

Our lips touch and I feel the sensation that he described. After a second or two, Mitch pulls away.

"Did you feel it?" He asks me.

I nodded quickly and managed to smile up at him.

I finally know what love feels like.

And it is the most beautiful feeling one can possibly experience.

"Yeah, I felt it. What does it mean?" I ask, unsure of what happens when two individuals love each other.

"Well." He murmurs and wraps his fingers with mine. "It means we were meant for each other, and I hit you with my car for a reason."

I felt myself melt at the sound of his voice, he always had a response for everything and always manages to make a situation that I cannot comprehend, clear.

"Unfortunately, we can't stay here anymore. We should go home." He says and his eyes flicker to the road where we had just run from my parents.

The way he said "home" made my heart squeeze, I finally had somewhere to sleep without worrying about being hurt, and somewhere that I knew someone was going to love me.

I nod and together we slip away from the madness we had just escaped from.

As we were walking, I couldn't help but think about Clara, mom had grabbed her by her hair and carelessly tossed her into the car.

Without their punching bag (me) would they begin to hit and abuse her like they did to me. Fear hit me at the thought. Clara was so young and fragile, one of the only things I ever loved.

And my parents knew that, they knew I would rather die than let Clara get hurt, and they could easily use that against me. It was only a matter of time until they threatened Clara's life in order for me to react.

And when they did, that would be it, the final straw, I would give in and accept my fate.

But I decided to give myself a moment of calmness and forget about everything that had just happened and everything that may happen in the near future.

I took a second to stop worrying and stop hurting. I pulled myself closer towards Mitch as we walked home. And for a split second, I felt complete happiness.

But I knew it was fake.

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A/N

Hey guys, what's up. I'll tell you what's up I'm freezing because where I live it is seriously cold. Mother Nature decided to cover everything in ice and like 3 feet of snow!

I really hate winter -.-

On the bright side, I still haven't started school and this is my second snow day because all the schools were closed and I'm not allowed to leave the house. Apparently, if you're outside for longer than 10 minutes, you may get frostbite.

Fun! (Note sarcasm)

Anyways, please comment, vote, fan and tell me how your winter is going so far.

<3

- Red xx (I hate winter!!!)